Big question mark hangs over Khmer Rouge trial
By Ed Cropley
PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - The courthouse is finished, a statue of its guardian spirit stands imposingly outside and prosecutors are wading through reams of documents relating to the 1.7 million victims of the "Killing Fields".
Despite all this, efforts to try Pol Pot's top henchmen for the Khmer Rouge atrocities of 30 years ago hang in the balance due to a major disagreement between Cambodian and foreign judges over the nuts and bolts of the joint court.
Last month, a week-long meeting of both sides to hammer out the hundreds of rules and guidelines governing everything from admissibility of evidence to witness protection to the height of the judges' chairs resolved precisely nothing.
A source familiar with the talks said the Cambodian officials -- products of a politicised judiciary described by the United Nations in 1999 as "deficient in most important areas" -- simply refused to negotiate.
"There was a clear attempt to stall it, which is disturbing," the source said.
Court spokesman Peter Foster acknowledged the Cambodians "spoke with a common voice", but said its primary concern was "not to approve anything that violated the Cambodian legal system".
Amid speculation about the hidden hand of Prime Minister Hun Sen -- a former Khmer Rouge commander not linked to any atrocities -- diplomats said the $56 million U.N.-backed process could fall apart before the prosecution names its first suspect.
"If they don't shape up in the next two months, there won't be a trial at all," a Western diplomat in Phnom Penh said.
Foreign lawyers and judges drafted in to ensure the process is just would not compromise on quality, another diplomat said.
"You have people with major reputations and they're not going to take part in something that does not meet international standards," the diplomat said. "They've made that quite plain."
POLITICS OR LOGISTICS?
Critics of Hun Sen jumped on the impasse as evidence he had been spooked by the speed and rigour with which Canadian prosecutor Robert Petit was working and needed to apply the brakes.
The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, as the court is named officially, are mandated only to go after Khmer Rouge "senior leaders" and those "most responsible" for the atrocities committed during Pol Pot's 1975-79 reign of terror.
After Pol Pot's death in 1998, that was always assumed to mean "Brother Number Two" Nuon Chea, ex-President Khieu Samphan, ex-Foreign Minister Ieng Sary and a few others, including Duch, head of the Tuol Sleng "S-21" interrogation centre, and military supremo Ta Mok, who died in July.
But, the theory goes, maybe Petit was casting his net a little too wide and a little too close for comfort for a government still laden with ageing Khmer Rouge cadres.
A veteran of genocide tribunals in Rwanda and Sierra Leone, Petit said the slow progress was to be expected.
"Even if you'd put 20 Canadian judges in that room, I'm not sure you would have got any more results," he told Reuters.
"Everybody here is still committed to making this work and to having a good trial," Petit said. "A bad trial would be worse than no trial. It has to be done right, or not at all."
A separate sub-committee is now trying to draw up the rules, a task which court officials hope will be completed by February. If that all goes smoothly, Petit and his Cambodian colleague should be able to launch their first prosecutions in early March.
"We're withholding judgment in the hope that the difficulties encountered turn out to be logistical rather than political," said Heather Ryan of the Open Society Justice Initiative, a legal monitoring organisation.
At the personal level, the two sides do not seem to have got off on the right foot.
"It seems to me that the international lawyers consider the Cambodian lawyers to be incompetent," said Cambodian Bar Association head Ky Tech, embroiled in a related spat with the International Bar Association over external legal training.
For a tragedy whose roots are buried in the murky politics of the Cold War, it is also unsurprising that many see forces working beneath the surface.
Diplomats said China had been lobbying hard for Hun Sen to derail the trial because of the dirt it is sure to rake up on Beijing's support for Pol Pot and its efforts to export revolution to a region where it now has major strategic and economic stakes.
Despite all this, efforts to try Pol Pot's top henchmen for the Khmer Rouge atrocities of 30 years ago hang in the balance due to a major disagreement between Cambodian and foreign judges over the nuts and bolts of the joint court.
Last month, a week-long meeting of both sides to hammer out the hundreds of rules and guidelines governing everything from admissibility of evidence to witness protection to the height of the judges' chairs resolved precisely nothing.
A source familiar with the talks said the Cambodian officials -- products of a politicised judiciary described by the United Nations in 1999 as "deficient in most important areas" -- simply refused to negotiate.
"There was a clear attempt to stall it, which is disturbing," the source said.
Court spokesman Peter Foster acknowledged the Cambodians "spoke with a common voice", but said its primary concern was "not to approve anything that violated the Cambodian legal system".
Amid speculation about the hidden hand of Prime Minister Hun Sen -- a former Khmer Rouge commander not linked to any atrocities -- diplomats said the $56 million U.N.-backed process could fall apart before the prosecution names its first suspect.
"If they don't shape up in the next two months, there won't be a trial at all," a Western diplomat in Phnom Penh said.
Foreign lawyers and judges drafted in to ensure the process is just would not compromise on quality, another diplomat said.
"You have people with major reputations and they're not going to take part in something that does not meet international standards," the diplomat said. "They've made that quite plain."
POLITICS OR LOGISTICS?
Critics of Hun Sen jumped on the impasse as evidence he had been spooked by the speed and rigour with which Canadian prosecutor Robert Petit was working and needed to apply the brakes.
The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, as the court is named officially, are mandated only to go after Khmer Rouge "senior leaders" and those "most responsible" for the atrocities committed during Pol Pot's 1975-79 reign of terror.
After Pol Pot's death in 1998, that was always assumed to mean "Brother Number Two" Nuon Chea, ex-President Khieu Samphan, ex-Foreign Minister Ieng Sary and a few others, including Duch, head of the Tuol Sleng "S-21" interrogation centre, and military supremo Ta Mok, who died in July.
But, the theory goes, maybe Petit was casting his net a little too wide and a little too close for comfort for a government still laden with ageing Khmer Rouge cadres.
A veteran of genocide tribunals in Rwanda and Sierra Leone, Petit said the slow progress was to be expected.
"Even if you'd put 20 Canadian judges in that room, I'm not sure you would have got any more results," he told Reuters.
"Everybody here is still committed to making this work and to having a good trial," Petit said. "A bad trial would be worse than no trial. It has to be done right, or not at all."
A separate sub-committee is now trying to draw up the rules, a task which court officials hope will be completed by February. If that all goes smoothly, Petit and his Cambodian colleague should be able to launch their first prosecutions in early March.
"We're withholding judgment in the hope that the difficulties encountered turn out to be logistical rather than political," said Heather Ryan of the Open Society Justice Initiative, a legal monitoring organisation.
At the personal level, the two sides do not seem to have got off on the right foot.
"It seems to me that the international lawyers consider the Cambodian lawyers to be incompetent," said Cambodian Bar Association head Ky Tech, embroiled in a related spat with the International Bar Association over external legal training.
For a tragedy whose roots are buried in the murky politics of the Cold War, it is also unsurprising that many see forces working beneath the surface.
Diplomats said China had been lobbying hard for Hun Sen to derail the trial because of the dirt it is sure to rake up on Beijing's support for Pol Pot and its efforts to export revolution to a region where it now has major strategic and economic stakes.
5 comments:
"Diplomats said China had been lobbying hard for Hun Sen to derail the trial because of the dirt it is sure to rake up on Beijing's support for Pol Pot and its efforts to export revolution to a region where it now has major strategic and economic stakes".
So what? Should the world community, the UN , the US and the EU government let China do what she want to 1.7 million innocent Khmers?
If the world tolerate China + Vietnam in the name of Political Economic trades for China + Vietnam past in supporting Khmer Rouge genocidal in torturing killing 1.7 million Khmers inside Cambodia. China + Vietnam will do it again to every poor countries around the world.
Plese the world, Khmer people are suffering enough up to date. The relative of 1.7 million innocent Khmers want you to help them find justice once for all.
KAUN NEAK SRE
Who is the boss here? The International community must do what is right for the KR victims killed by pro-Chineses government led by Pol Pot and many CPP leaders including Hun Sen, Heng Samrin Chea Sim...These leaders do not want the trail to occur because their bloody hands will probably be cut off if they found out that they are also killlers. Justice for the innocents must be served!
It seemes that the world just not ready to face up to the giant China,yet and never will.
The longer the world is waiting, the more China is getting closer to becomes the next economic gaint. Who knows, China may be the next member of "G8" or making it becoming a "G9".
Just let her going pass the gate world! She is so fine alright. How little this universe can be?
It seems that the world just not ready to face up the giant China,yet and never will.
The longer the world is waiting, the more China is getting closer to become the next Economic Giant of the world.
Who knows? China may be the next member of " The G8 " or making it becoming "the G9 ".
Just let her going pass the gate world! She is so fine alright. How little a universe can be? It's very very sad.
The International lawyers are right, Khmer Courts System are very incompetent. They operated base on the Green. There is no justice in Cambodia w/o the $$$.
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